England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hurstpierpoint Holy Trinity

The Parish

The parish of Hurstpierpoint lies in southern central Sussex about 9 miles north of the coastal resort & town of Brighton. Hurstpierpoint is a large village and previously a small market town which sits just under a mile east of the A23 road which connects Brighton with London. In medieval times Hurstpierpoint was granted a market and its corn market was, for a time, an important local trading point. Market status has faded over the centuries but Hurstpierpoint remains a large settlement. The centre sits at the crossroads of B2116 & B2117 but the village extends north from that junction for almost a mile whilst along the B2116 it is almost contiguous with Hurst Wickham & Hassocks to the east. Today Hurstpierpoint is also something of a dormitory settlement for its larger southern neighbour across the Downs. The Wealden area is notable for having a mixed farming economy and Hurstpierpoint's acreage was in the majority arable but with a substantial area set to pasture. Hurstpierpoint is drained westwards by a series of small streams heading for the River Adur which, turning southwards, cuts a swathe through the chalk of the South Downs to reach the English Channel through the port of Shoreham by Sea. Hurstpierpoint sits within Sussex' Weald at around 50 metres above the sea, the southern view, however, is covered by the heights of the South Downs where the chalk ridge reaches over 200 metres on nearby Wolstobbury Hill topped by its ancient hill-fort. Wealden parishes are either small or large with little in-between, Hurstpierpoint parish was one of the latter, covering almost 5,000 acres it would have supported a population of just over 2,100 parishioners. In Domesday times Hurstpierpoint was also one of the largest settlements in this area, held by William de Warenne it could offer an impressive 23 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland and had 3 mills, a wealthy place which was amongst the largest 20% of settlements in the book.

The Church

Holy Trinity church sits just west of the main crossroads within the small town, on the southern side of the B2116, High Street at this point. Sadly this is not an ancient medieval masterpiece, not, indeed, the venue for the weddings listed here. The original 14th century church was removed by the middle of the 19th century and Holy Trinity built between 1843 and 1845 to replace it, some evidence states the original church as being dedicated to St Lawrence, all traces of that church have been removed. Today's church is a typical large and prosperous town church built in the same 14th century style as would have been the original church. A large church of five bays topped off with a northwestern tower complete with steeple, it certainly dominates the town skyline. Parking is not permitted close to the church, there is a small parking area westwards along the B2116, the churchyard is flush with and elevated above the road, there being no pavement it is a little tricky to access through the lychgate that fronts High Street. Once within there are no significant obstructions to photography albeit the placing of the tower on the northwestern corner makes for a tricky subject on a sunny day.